Michelle Obama recalls 'sinking feeling' when Barack had to postpone Christmas plans because he put work first
Although the Obamas make sure to spend the holidays together almost every year, Michelle Obama recalled one Christmas in the past where former president Barack Obama let her and their daughter, Malia, down by first asking them to postpone their vacation plans and later, bailing on them altogether.
The former first lady made the revelations in her bestselling memoir 'Becoming'. She recalled that the family was scheduled to fly to Hawaii to celebrate the holidays with Barack’s grandmother, Toot, when her husband had to postpone the plans last minute, International Business Times reported.
Flight tickets for the couple and their then 18-month-old daughter were already booked when Michelle received a phone call from the ex-POTUS, who was then the senator of Illinois. He told her that the senate was in the middle of a marathon debate regarding a major crime bill and hence they would have to fly to Hawaii later than they had planned.
Since her husband only wanted to delay the trip and not cancel it, Michelle was disheartened but still understanding of her husband's situation. “I didn't want Toot spending Christmas alone, and beyond that Barack and I needed the downtime. The trip to Hawaii, I was figuring, would separate both of us from our work and give us a chance to simply breathe,” she said.
The three did manage to reschedule their tickets and fly to Hawaii two days before Christmas, but politics did not let them enjoy the holidays. As they were catching up with each other at Toot's apartment and opening presents, Barack received a phone call from Illinois informing him that he was needed back in the state as the senate was going back in session.
“With a sinking heart I watched as Barack jumped into action, rebooking out flights to leave the following day pulling the plug on our vacation,” she said.